Death Threat (An Owl City Fanfiction)

Chapter 8

Slowly but surely the crowd started to disperse. Needless to say, they were upset and disappointed at not getting a good story. But that was fine by me. The last thing I needed was for the death threat to on public television. We searched for Steve and Breanne, and quickly spotted them waiting for us by a nearby tree.
"Hey!" Breanne called. "You made it out alive!"
I laughed. "Yeah! I guess I did!"
"Thanks to me!" Jasper chimed in. I laughed again. "Yes, Jasper. Thanks to you."

"Well," Steve said. "I don't know about you, but I'm hungry!"
"So am I!" I put in.
"Adam, you're always hungry!" Breanne retorted.
I nudged her gently with my elbow as she playfully rolled her eyes.
"Can you blame me?" I asked.
We crossed the street, and headed over to the restaurant. As we entered, I felt my phone buzz in my back pocket. I stiffened a little. I was getting a phone call. I answered it, and my heart skipped a beat.

The police? I excused myself and ran to the restroom. Once inside, I made sure no one was there. Then I pulled out my phone again and answered it.
"H-hello?" I asked unsurely. A woman's voice rang out over my phone's speakers.
"Sir," She said urgently. "We need you to come down to the police station right now."
"Why? W-what's going on?"
"Just come."
"O-okay..."
"We have a cab waiting for you in the front. Get going."
"Wait. But how do you know where I—"
"Just get going!"
"Okay, okay!"

I rushed out of the restroom and met my friends who were already at a booth. Quickly, I explained what happened and told them I'd be back shortly. Then I ran out into the parking lot. Sure enough, there was a taxi waiting for me in the parking lot. I opened the door and jumped in the back. Without a word, the driver slammed his foot on the gas and we sped out of the parking lot.

As we drove along, I got an uneasy feeling in my stomach.
Well no kidding. I told myself. If everything was okay, you wouldn't be on your way to the police station!
I tried to push the feeling away, but it just kept coming back. Finally, we pulled up to the police station. I hopped out of the taxi, paid the driver, and hurried into the building. My heart pounded in my chest as I pondered what could be so important.
Almost instantly, I was greeted by a woman standing nearby. She was the same officer who'd spoken to me at the crash site. I waved hello as she walked over.
"Hello." She said. "I'm Alice, chief of police." I awkwardly introduced myself in return.
"You may be wondering why we called you down to the station."
I nodded.
"Well," She continued, beginning to walk down a hallway and motioning for me to follow, "you remember the taxi driver from this morning?"
"How could I forget?"
A smile flickered across her face for a second, but then she became serious again.

   "We... found something, or some things, rather, that we thought you ought to know."
I didn't respond as we rounded a corner. Alice walked briskly through the corridor and I almost had to jog to keep up with her! I could feel myself getting more and more nervous with every step we took. My heart was beating hard, but I couldn't tell if it was because I was nervous, or because of the fact that keeping up with Alice was a workout in and of itself! When we reached our destination, I bent down with my hands on my knees, panting a little as I caught my breath.
"We're here." Alice said. I stood up straight again and nodded. In front of us was a heavy metal door. She pushed it open and we walked into a small, L-shaped room that was dimly lit. I turned my head and gasped when I saw the taxi driver from earlier in handcuffs on the other side of a thick pane of glass.
"Have a seat." Alice motioned to a chair and I sat down. I couldn't keep my eyes off the window. The driver seemed to be staring squarely at me. I squirmed uncomfortably in my seat.

   "It's okay." Alice said, noticing my discomfort. "He can't actually see you. That's a two way mirror."
"Oh." I responded. "Okay." Although I did my best to hide my excitement, I have to admit, on the inside I felt so cool to be watching someone through a two way mirror. I felt like a secret agent or a spy! Clearly, I was horrible at hiding my euphoria, because Alice laughed a little.
"First time ever looking through one of these?" She asked. I nodded, unable to peel my eyes off the mirror. Then my childish side took over, and before I could stop myself, I was making faces at the man.
"With all due respect, Mr. Young, are you finished?" Alice asked after a minute. She wasn't nearly as amused as I was. I quickly snapped back to my normal self and reluctantly peeled my gaze from the mirror. I cleared my throat.
"S-sorry, ma'am." I mumbled awkwardly, blushing feverishly as I did so. I stared at the ground, willing it to comfort me. It didn't.
Alice, appearing to sense my embarrassment, moved on to telling me what it was she'd called me down to the station for.
"So, as I stated earlier, we've made a couple–how should I put it–" she paused, trying to figure out a way to phrase her sentence. "...Discoveries since this morning."

I nodded. That was fast.
"After calling the taxi company, we found out that that driver," here she gestured to the taxi driver on the other side of the two way mirror, "was never actually hired by them. Furthermore, the license plate was faked as well."
I gasped. The man who'd pulled me aside earlier was right. That accident wasn't actually an accident at all. It was staged!
"So," I started slowly, "you mean to tell me that the accident the morning was all...setup?"
"I'm afraid so." Alice nodded. "Mr. Young. I think it's time you played it safe and lay low for a little bit. This isn't just a petty death note meant to scare you anymore. This is life threatening."
"I understand." I nodded. "But...but Ma'am, I fear that if I stay in the Hotel by myself, whoever's behind all this will strike there. I've noticed they only seem to strike when I'm alone. My hotel would be the perfect location for an attack. Not to mention there are others there that could get hurt!"

Alice thought this over. "I suppose you're right." She said after a while. "We'll send officers over to watch from a distance. But please, please, be very careful. We'll do our best to protect you and those around you, but there's only so much we can do.
"Yes, ma'am. I–I understand." I replied.
She sighed. "I'm sorry. We just don't want you to get... more hurt."
"I'll do my best not to."
"Is there anything you'd like to ask him?" Alice asked, motioning to the window.
"Actually... yeah." I replied.

So Alice took me by the arm and led me out of the observation room, and into the room the fake taxi driver was in.
"H-hi." I said awkwardly. The man looked up and gave me a cold glare. I swallowed hard. This wasn't going to be easy.